Meghan Markle’s story can seem like a fairytale at times — a famous actress meets a prince and they marry and start a family.
Best known for her role as Rachel Zane in “Suits,” in which she appeared for seven seasons out of the show’s total nine, Markle also had a wide-ranging career outside of acting, which included everything from fashion to calligraphy and even being a lifestyle influencer.
After it was confirmed she and Prince Harry were engaged, Markle announced her retirement from acting in order to focus on being a full-time member of the royal family.But while her story is certainly a fairytale romance of our generation, Markle is not the first woman to lead such a life.
Back in the 1950s American actress, Grace Kelly had a very similar story.
Considered one of Hollywood’s greats, Kelly had an incredibly short career for a film star, working for only six years. However, she was very prolific during that time, appearing in over a dozen movies and winning an Academy Award and Golden Globe.
After dominating Hollywood in her short acting career, Kelly met Prince Rainier III of Monaco while at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955. Swept off her feet by the charming prince, Kelly chose love instead of her career, quitting Hollywood and becoming Princess of Monaco. Together she and Rainier had three children — Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie.
While Markle has only been a royal family member for a few years, the similarities between her and Kelly are clear. Let’s take a look at how the two are similar as well as different.
Besides sharing the fact that both Meghan Markle and Grace Kelly were famous American actresses who met real-life princes, both of their relationships also started as whirlwind romances that developed quickly.
Considered one of Hollywood’s greats, Kelly had an incredibly short career for a film star, working for only six years. Notable films during her time as an actress include “Mogambo,” which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, and “The Country Girl” which won her an Oscar, also for Best Supporting Actress. Other iconic roles include three Alfred Hitchcock films — “Dial M For Murder,” “Rear Window” and “To Catch a Thief” with Cary Grant. She even portrayed Princess Alexandra in the film “The Swan.”
While attending the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, Kelly was asked by fellow Hollywood actress Olivia de Havilland if she would be open to meeting Prince Rainier III, a friend of de Havilland’s French husband Pierre Galante. Kelly confirmed she would,provided her film studio, MGM, approved of the meeting during a work trip. After a series of mishaps, Kelly met the prince in his palace in Monaco and the rest as they say is history. De Havilland told People many years later: “I guessed things had gone wonderfully well by Grace’s manner upon returning from her presentation to Rainier. … She was in a state of enchantment.”
Famously, Markle was also set up with her prince on a blind date. After being introduced by a mutual friend, the couple opened up about how their first meeting went during their engagement interview. When asked at what point he knew Markle was the one, Prince Harry replied:
